Operation Scavenger, When it Rains...
Scene Information Logger: Akihiko Participants: Rain, Seigyoku, Mikado, Akihiko Location: Land of Fire - Miata Forest - Inside Caves Log The aftermath of the battle had left an eerie silence for tha Takokujin as they inhabited the rather empty cavern now. Even after the cleaning, the scent of blood and faint traces of death still remained. Many people had died recently do to the acts of dishonorable thieves as it were. This event wasn't completely unforseeable, but at the same time counting on a psychopath was never truly something someone could do. The flow of ncome would cease, the payments to the contractors was done prior, which was good. However, Satomi seemed to have a bit of a snag i nher last assignment and hadstill not returned. The funds now... were going to be counted as a loss the more time they spent in this location. Staring at the bonfire that was still maintained for the small group now, Rain hadn't said much since the battle. He remained introverted, not allowing his thoughts to be spilled over on to others for better or worse. Atleast until now. "Kirigakure." Rain would say to seemingly no one at all. His black eyes reflected the flames back in an almost glossy, lifeless way as he fell back in to his silence. Obviously, he had plans for that country, but what exactly. Didn't all of the rumors and hype that surrounded that village make it a risk to the Takokujin? They wouldbe coming from violence, and heading straight towards more and this time it would be professionals not just some lowly thieves. Perhaps Rain wasn't thinking straight, or perhaps he had some sort of plan in store for the Land of Water. Young Sei was exiting the cave, his arms a little dirty from trying to get some of the final stains out of the rock faces, but some places were just too porous to really get in there and get it all out. So he ultimately gave up before he would have to chip away at the rock itself to get at them... and he was just too lazy for that, seriously. "I hear they have good fish markets down there... mmm, fish." He closes his eyes and plops down haphazardly a third turn from Rain's spot around the fire, so he can see without looking right over the flames(?) and the small pieces of glowing ash that rise up every few moments or so out of the warm spot on the ground. He falls in line with the silence, not being one to talk too much himself, because that takes energy, and comfortable in the silence that had befallen the two wanderers. "What about Kiri?" Mikado would inquire from where she was, coming out of the cavern and stretching out a bit. The scent of blood was something she was used to after everything that happened in Konoha, so it did not seem to faze her in the slightest. The girl would walk right up to Rain smile to him, offering a light tilt of her head, always one to try and keep a smile going even in the thick of all of this. She looks over towards Seigyoku and waves to them "Hello again." It seemed that whoever was behind the crazed attacks on the cave took quite a few followers with him, since there had been plenty more that had followed in the wake of the first group of rebels that tried to destroy the cavern and everyone who happened to be in them at the time. Of course, they were no match for the Takokujin while they were alerted to such activities.. though people still died. Some of the people left behind were in charge of cleaning up all the carnage that took place while defending the little outpost they were holing up in. The strong smell of blood and 'other' things was still in the air for the most part.. but the bonfire helped wash some of it away with the smokey smell it pumped into the air. For now, Akihiko had settled himself around the bonfire that was burning, standing not to far from Rain as the man was completely silent as he contemplated the groups next move. And then, the utterance of a single word. "Kirigakure? Is that where we're heading next? You sure you want to go that way? That country is full of crazy murderers." he says. While the fact was he too was from the Land of Water.. but not from Kirigakure directly. He'd glance over at Mikado who was still lingering about, trying to spread the infectious smile she wore. "Heh. Not everything is sunshine and smiles." he'd say, "But it's good to see someone trying to believe it is." caving in and grinning at the girl. Rain would move over towards the meeting table, the curtain gone as there wasn't anyone to witness their plans and even if there was, a curtain would only serve to limit their ability to notice such a thing. The stone slab would soon be covered with basic geographical charts one could get from any store that provided such. "Taking the route from Amegakure's location, thus going quite a bit around Konoha's water ways and completely avoiding the other coutnries boarders, we should be able to find a fisherman that is resettled out there. I spoke with him while he was here a few weeks ago and he said that should we need any help, he had a barge on the side for transporting passangers. As i recall from..." Rain would suddenly stop, his finger remaining on the point where he was tracing the route un moving for a moment before he'd continue on, "... as i recall, the people of Kirigakure, which wouldn't be all that far from our port, are extremely vicious. However, there is one law that i may be correct in understanding." Looking towards Akihiko for a momment, trying to catch his eye specifically he would say, "Is it not true that Kirigakure has extremely strict rules about how the shinobi handle villagers and common people? It is one of the only villages i can recall off of the top of my head that have extreme consequences for shinobi harming non shinobi or criminals to the Land of Water." Rain would stop there for a moment as he scanned everyone paying attention at the moment. "This country is a mess of islands with various dangers and protocols, however, i believe that that law is in place for one main reason. I believe it is to protect their economy. The Land of Water is a trade hub, likely the largest of the five great countries. We should be able to easily establish a ready source of income and information there without really any problems at all. We'd have to stay pretty legal however, but other than trading Kirigakure secrets and such, there isn't anything i think we'd be involved in there any how. Still, i'm leary about even that... if it's worth the consequences to get a few rumors." The proposal was on the table, literally. Was Kirigakure a good place to recover from this loss in the end? Rain hadn't truly set up a locatino for where the Takokujin would lay temporary claim, likely awaiting a consensus first. Sei follows Rain to the table, watching as the situation was explained with his hands in his pockets and arms hidden underneath that garb of the blanket he was so fond of. Maybe a kept baby blanket? Who knows. Anyhow, he watches Rains finger as it exhudes the mark of launch where the barge should be berthing. When the idea of getting there and a place to stay, he pipes up after a yawn, "Well, I'm sure I can find someone with some hospitality enough to house a few of us in the village itself until we can find somewhere else to stay... or just ride out their kindness until.." he makes a whooshing motion with one hand that left it's warm abode in his pants pocket before returning it and looking for what anyone else had to say. Finding kindness in people was a knack of his, or maybe exploiting it. Either way, his own offer of help was on the table. Hrmm, true, but there is no point in adding to the sadness, so might as well try and add a bit of happiness when one can right?" She would state before moving to place her hands on top of Akihiko's head, leaning on him as she looked over what Rain was talking about "Hrmm, well so long as we do not have to stay in such a place for too long, the fact that it is a chain of islands means more water and less land most of the time, and even then land there tends to be quite moist and hard to move through, so if any were to come after us we may be a bit of a disadvantage when it comes to defending ourselves." Mikado always liked to be prepared for anything "However so long as we are not dealing with water users or people from Kiri then we would be on even ground so to speak....that is of course if anyone else wishes to attack this group." Akihiko would follow behind Rain as the man ventured back into their little meeting room that had been rather disheveled from all the recent commotion. The tarp that acted as their doorway was gone now, so he could just walk right on in and stand around that stone slab they had for a table. It'd take a few moments for Rain to prepare himself for the following discussion, laying out all those maps and such to explain his reasoning behind things. Seems that Rain had been setting up things long before they were going to be set in motion. This is what the Miyamoto had come to expect from such an individual, and is another reason why he deemed his choice in an employer as a good one. Taking a seat at the tables edge, Akihiko would bring a hand up to rub at his chin in thought... mulling this idea of Rain's over in his head, before being put on the spot about Kirigakure protocols regarding villagers and other non shinobi class people. "Eh?.. Yeah, that's right.. it's bad news for them to mess with the villagers and other normal people." he'd reply, hand still at his chin as he continued to stare down at the table. Turning his head at the feel of hands atop his head, he'd peer up at Mikado for a moment before going back to Rain. "Anyways, if you think we can turn up a good profit there. I guess I'm all for going that way." he says with a slight shrug of his shoulders. "But if we're going to go knee deep in ninja villages. I'd suggest everyone start preparing a little better, so we can handle incidents like what just happened a little more proficiently." he'd say, arms resting against the edge of the table now. "And that is the true purpose of water. To wash away the past and leave behind no trace of what has transpired before in any recognizable fashion." Rain would say as he stood up and circled his finger around a chain of tiny islands before poking at 4 distant dots o nthe map. "Maps like these...are cheap... and usually out dated. There is likely more tiny islands like these where we can have a more secluded spot. Renting a boat shouldn't be hard, especially with fishing credentials. We cannot allow what happened this operation to happen again in the future. Do to your efforts, we have managed to gain some talent here, as was the purpose of remaining here for so long. We will utilize this talent to begin to learn how to face foes beyond the street thugs and criminals we have to sift through. As long as those who have those skills are willing to share them with us?" Rain would ask as his obsidian orbs would lock specifically on to Mikado's golden ones for now. Sei stays quiet throughout the rest of the converstion, looking down at the map with some visible lack of interest. "Ok, when are we going?" he finaly asks and arches his back a little bit as he stretches his back, and blinks slowly. He would turn after an answer is given, and head back towards the front of the cave. Mikado would look back at Rain as he would stare into her eyes and of course, she just could not resist, she flutters her eyes at him and even blows him a kiss, just to play the tease a bit more "My my, should you really be trying to pick up on girls while going over battle plans?" She smiles a bit at him once more before stretching some and thinking "I will teach people if they are willing to learn, and ready to put in the effort...this includes waking up early, a lot of studying, and maybe even some 'homework'...but I need people that will be focused, and want to learn." From the looks of things, their plan was settled as far as where they were going to go next. Akihiko gives a solid nod to this course of action. "Well yeah, if you want the good maps, you have to pay extra for those. And usually buy them in the country you're wanting a map for." he'd point out as the mention of using one of those small islands as their next base of operations. A good idea, if they can keep it well hidden. Rain was good at washing away trails of those who didn't want to be followed. As Rain, their leader, spoke of sharing skills among the others. He'd follow his gaze to the golden eyes that were above his head, staring up at Mikado from below as she starts playing around. "Heh. Homework you say? Can I sign up in advance for some private tutoring then?" he'd ask with a wolfish grin on his face before pondering just what he might be able to learn from Mikado, who had yet to share her name with the others. As far as he knew. As Mikado was Rain's current focus, he would reply to her first, "It is their perogative to take advantage of the lessons or not, as with everything else." Rain already had the training in mind and was prepared for it mentally. He would not allow the past to repeat itself in this instance again. As far as the teasing, he seemed to skip over that as usual. It could be that he was shy, or dismissive or reserving himself for another, maybe even taken or scorned. All that could really be determined was he never seemed to engage in such play. Maybe obsession was his own true lover? "We will leave when Satomi gets back from her mission." Rain just didn't feel right about leaving Konoha without using it first, in all honesty. Not for anything particularly evil, just for the purpose of maintaining a foot hold. "We'll retrieve a better map when we are there simply for navigation, however what i have in mind has alot more to do with luck than fact." A plan based on luck from Rain? Surely this was not the case. He had something up his sleeve thathe was keeping to himself. Perhaps he enjoyed the drama? Still, he would get back on task. "I would like for everyone to stay within the caverns unti lwe cross the boarder other than to get food. It is time to disappear." Rain would raise his head and gaze at them all in turn for a look of understanding. "Any other questions?" Sei stops as he reaches the entrance of the cave, hearing Rain say that. "Ohhh, but I was going out for a lovely stroll.." he complained, but reluctantly was returning anyhow into the cave. "Guess I'll just take a nap then.." he sighs, looking at everyone for just a moment, then hunkering down into a corner somewhere. Mikado pouts at the fact that Rain did not want to at least joke around a little, ah well, cannot expect the leader to have any kind of sense of humor or even show a bit of interest. "I have no questions, other than can we have someone at least make a list of who all are interested in being taught something." And with that, she would stand and stretch some, moving away from the table with a yawn "If anyone wishes to speak with me, I will be off meditating, or sleeping, one of the two." A soft sigh would escape her at the thought of once again training people, still though, it had to be done. ...Mikado also did not state anything towards Akihiko's comment about private tutoring. With the business at hand now at an end, Akihiko gives a little grunt as he pushes himself back up to his feet, dusting off his dark blue clothing. "No questions here boss." he'd reply to Rain before watching Mikado head on off to go take a nap or something. "Put me down on that list. It's one reason why I'm here, to get more experience and get stronger. But.. I'll get started on breaking down any tents that are still here, so we can move out when we're ready." he says, peering over at Sei...something. "Hey you, whatever your name is. You start breaking down anything that's able to be packed up. I don't need any slackers around here." before he too would head on off to get to work. As people began to take their leave, Rain would say to Mikado as she left, "If you make your lesson plan attractive enough, the only subject you will have to worry over is time to ensure satisfaction to your students." However, he would also speak to Seigyoku momentarily with, "If you must head out, when tere is time, do not go far and do not stay out long. I want as little trace of us beyond this cavern as possible." Stretching slightly and nodding towards Akihiko and his desire to get some work done, Rain would move to catch up with Mikado. Slipping next to her, he would speak very quietly, which he often had little reason to do. "There is a matter that we must discuss soon." he would inform her. Mikado stops for a moment and looks to Rain, nodding some "Sounds like a plan, when do you wish to speak?" She would ask Rain, watching him and tilting her head. She did wonder why he was speaking so low but she would not question it, he surely had his reasons for everything that had to be delt with. Her eyes glance around at everyone else, almost as if she was sizing them all up. "Your fire is my fire, i simply do not have the kindling currently." Rain would say in a rather cryptic manner. "Should you light me aflame, i believe i can handle the rest from there. Though i would not dismiss further action taken to stoking the fire as it were." Rain would then cross his arms overhis chest and simply wait for her reply, because his message was clear enough in his own mind as to what he wanted her to do for him. The hushed tones remained still as it was not something he wished for other to know aside from the one who would aid him with his issue. Mikado would look upon Rain for a long moment, listening to this before smiling and nodding "Sounds fair enough...though I will need you to stop talking so criptic around me at least...sound good?" she asks, moving a hand to run along Rain's cheek before moving to walk back towards her tent "I will come and see you a bit later and tell you a little secret...until then, wait for me." And with that she would fade into her tent and get readyu for her little nap. *** END SCENE ***